Harlingen (Dutch: [ˈɦɑrlɪŋə(n)] ⓘ; West Frisian: Harns [hãːs] ⓘ) is a municipality and a city in the northern Netherlands, in the province of Friesland.

In combination with its location on the Wadden Sea and the large fleet of historical shallow draught sailing vessels that operate out of Harlingen, this makes the town a center for tourism in Friesland.

Rederij Doeksen operate ferries to the Wadden islands of Vlieland and Terschelling that depart from Harlingen.

In 1496 the inhabitants of Franeker, which supported the Schieringer party, conquered the lightly fortified city by surprise.

[6] Those of Groningen supported Harlingen and the Vetkopers, and had previously built a strong castle near the sea, but due the surprise it was lost.

During the opening phases of the Eighty Years' War (1566–1648) a lot of religious fugitives settled in Harlingen.

This admiralty had ten councilors: four from Friesland; one each from Gelderland, Utrecht, Holland, and Overijssel; and two from Groningen.

From the Baltic, it merchants brought cereals, timber, flax, hemp, pitch, tar, and other shipping necessities.

[11] Harlingen exported: butter, cheese, peas, beans, horses, cattle, and sheep.

These early industrial enterprises relied on the fact that peat could cheaply be transported over water to Harlingen.

However most of the heavily loaded ships had to transload on the roadstead or harbor before the town, before they could enter the Buitenhaven.

[8] The third reason for the maritime activity in Harlingen was that the whole of Westergoa discharged its water on the Wadden Sea via two locks that exited in the Nieuwe- and Oude Haven.

Already in the 1820s, the Amsterdamsche Stoomboot Maatschappij made a stop at Harlingen part of her Amsterdam-Hamburg line.

Steam powered ships opened some new opportunities, especially for the export of agricultural products to England.

By 1870 the General Steam Navigation Company (GSNC) also had a regular cattle line between London and Harlingen.

[17] This allowed the export of the famous Frisian dairy products, especially butter with even less damage during transport.

The famous Dutch writer Simon Vestdijk was born in Harlingen and used to depict his hometown in his writings as Lahringen.